Thursday, January 31, 2013

I hope you find this blog informative and useful. Please
leave a comment and your contact information for a chance to win my soon-to-be
released e-book, TO HAVE AND TO HOLD, in which the heroine lives in a dugout
she dug herself with a broken shovel after her home was washed away in a flash
flood. January 24 is the release date for this book.

Dugout, 1850-1920 – Dugout dwellings were, of course
partially subterranean, dug either into level ground-up to approximately six
feet deep-or, more commonly, into a hillside, preferably south facing, to
capture sun in the winter. Floor dimensions of 12’x12’ were common. A wall of
log, earth, stone, or sometimes brick was sometimes built above ground around
the perimeter, high enough to provide adequate head room. The roof might be
flat, sloped, or have a shallow, pitched gable. The roof consisted of flat
boards or heavy wood poles spaced evenly as rafters. Willows or other saplings
were placed between poles and covered with straw or bundles of brush. A thick
layer of dirt made the final layer. Such a roof did little good in heavy rain
and often caved in, especially if livestock was allowed to roam freely on top
of the roof.

Single-Cell, 1847-1910—A single-cell house is a
single square or rectangle unit not subdivided into rooms. It may be one,
one and a half, or two stories tall, and is sometimes called the “square cabin”
or “hall house,” an English form found in all sections of the United States.

Double-Cell, 1847-90 — The double-cell house has two
square or roughly square units arranged axially, one, one and a half, or two
stories tall, usually with a façade having two front doors and either two or
four symmetrical windows. Chimneys were at the gable ends or in the center of
the house.

Hall-Parlor, 1847-1910 —The hall-parlor house consists
of a single square room (the hall) with a smaller room serving as the best room
(parlor) attached to the side. Though one room deep, there may be one, one and
a half, or two floors. The internal plan is always asymmetrical, but a
characteristic three-or five-bay symmetrical façade masks the imbalance.
Chimneys stood either internally or at the gable ends.

Central Passage, 1847-1900—A central-passage house
is a modification of the hall-parlor type, with a passage or hallway (usually
containing a staircase) between two square or roughly square rooms. One,
one-and-a-half, and two-story examples of the house have been recorded, and
both three-and five-bay forms are common (bays are window or door openings).
From the outside, the placement of internal chimneys flanking the central hall
indentifies it as this type of house.

Pair House, 1853-90— The pair house has a distinctive
three-room-wide floor plan. It differs from the central-passage type by
the central room being more than a passageway. Usually it is either the kitchen
or the living room. This one also was built with one, one and a half and
two stories, with either gable-end or internal chimneys. The paired internal
chimneys (more widely spaced than central-passage chimneys) indentify it as a
pair house. Usually has three or five bays.

Double Pile, 1847-80— The double-pile house was two
rooms deep, a regional modification of the Georgian detached house (which has
two rooms on either side of a long central passage.) Other double-pile forms
extend the hall parlor, pair house, and double-cell types one unit to the rear.

Side Passage/Entry Hall, 1847-1920— This house has a
square or rectangular plan with an entrance passage on one side of the main
floor, giving the house a distinctive asymmetrical appearance. The
side-passage house is one and a half or two stories and was used in styles
ranging from the Greek Revival to the Prairie School. The side-passage form
originated as an 18th-century variant of the Georgian detached house—two rooms
on either side of a central passage.

Saltbox, 1847-70— The saltbox is defined mainly by
its roof shape rather than its plan. This house has a two-story front section
and a one-story extension, or outshut, to the rear. The entire house is covered
by a long sloping roof, with a continuous, unbroken roofline, giving it the
shape of an old-fashioned salt storage box.

Temple Form, 1847-75—The temple-form house has its
entrance in the narrower side of the house, usually under the gable end of the
roof. These houses may multiple storied, and may use different floor
plans, including the double-cell and side-passage. There may be wings on one or
both sides. By 1850, several new types, such as the cross-wing and cruciform,
were becoming important new forms.

Cross Wing, 1880-1910— The cross-wing house consists of two wings placed at
right angles so the floor plan resembles a “T” or an “L.” The stairway is
often situated in the side wing. Usually one and a half stories tall,
although some are two stories. Smaller one-story examples were often called
simply “T-cottages.

Shotgun House, 1875-1910— The shotgun house is
narrow, one story tall, one room wide, and two or more rooms deep. The
narrow gable end faces the street and typically contains a single entryway and
window. Each room is placed behind the other in single file, with no
hallway. The roof ridge is perpendicular to the street.